Category: Living Adventurously
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Kit List For A Wild Swim
I am no expert outdoor swimmer – I’m not sure such a thing exists – but I’ve jumped in my fair share of cold puddles and ditches in recent years. Presented below is my personal view of the necessary equipment for a swim in open water. You may agree or disagree with parts of…
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The Natural Navigator
Last month I attended a course on natural navigation – learning to find your orientation without map, compass GPS or any other instructions, relying instead on cues from nature. Tristan Gooley wrote a book called The Natural Navigator – which I’d highly recommend – and he also runs courses. Here, in brief, are some simplified…
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Twitter, the Hellespont and the Gobi
Here are a few articles that I’ve read in the last month and thought that you might like. I do a similar post each month. The links tend to come in part from adventure and expedition blogs but also the odd bit of philosophical stuff and a couple that make me laugh. Six of the…
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Expeditions and Trekking in Hokkaido
Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido, seems like a fantastic venue for adventurous activities with plenty of cold mountains, vast woodland and smooth tarmac roads for those on wheels. I was there briefly, driving around in support of Sarah Outen as she kayaked to and from the island, and cycled across it. During my time, I…
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National Freelancers Day 2011
Today is National Freelancers Day. As someone who probably falls under this category, here are a few articles I’ve written around the subject of working for yourself… 10 things I’ve started doing since going freelance The dishwasher dash (and 9 other ways I squeeze exercise into my working day) 7 things that I like about…
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If An Expedition Happens In The Forest And No One Blogs About It…
Although it is popular to deride expeditions for excessive use of social media, I actually find it a great shame when expeditions don’t provide any means of following their progress. It annoys me as much as the next person, if not more, to see website after flashy website declaring that this will be the…
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Expedition Planning Seminar this weekend
Starting this evening is my favourite event of the expedition calender: Explore at the Royal Geographical Society. I have been a few times before, always learnt stuff and, more recently, tried to contribute. It is such a great place to get enthused about expeditions and a fairly unique opportunity to pick the brains of some…
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Get Away, Get Perspective
Having recently returned from some time abroad, I found myself tackling my daily routines with renewed vigour and approaching my life plans with a new sense of focus. I am sure I am not alone in this. One of the primary reasons people go on holiday is to get away from everything and get some…
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Book Flights On A Thursday
I told some friends of mine that I was about to book flights to South America and they replied: “Make sure you do it on a Thursday”. What? Apparently, when booking their own flights to the same continent, they had noticed daily fluctuations in the price with a pattern emerging such that booking on…
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Adventure Story Evening, this Thursday
I am speaking at this Thursday’s Adventure Story Evening in London. I’ll be alongside Sally Kettle, who has rowed the Atlantic, and Billy Gammon, who recently rowed to the Magnetic North Pole. I have only ever rowed a pleasure boat in Regents Park. The Tales of Adventure evening is normally run by Chris Martin (another…